Here's how much Venom: Let There Be Carnage cost to make, and what it needs to earn to be considered a box office success. After Sony struck a deal with Disney to allow Spider-Man to become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the studio began their own series starring Spider-Man related characters. In 2018, Sony released Venom, starring Tom Hardy in the lead role. Though the film was hardly a critical darling, Venom was a massive box office hit, grossing $856 million worldwide. That performance paved the way for Sony to give the sequel a green light.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is one of the most-anticipated movies of the fall, finally sticking to a date after being delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Encouraged by Shang-Chi's box office performance, Sony actually moved Venom: Let There Be Carnage up on the calendar, hoping to take advantage of a box office resurgence. However, with new cases continuing to be an issue due to the Delta variant, many are curious to see how new releases will fare in theaters. Sony clearly has a lot invested in Venom 2, and they're hoping it can be a success.

Related: Tom Hardy's Venom Can't Be In Sinister Six As A Villain

Venom 2's Budget: How Much Did Let There Be Carnage Cost?

Venom 2 Let There Be Carnage Venom at a rave

As of this writing, no Venom: Let There Be Carnage budget figure has been reported. Looking at the previous film could provide a ballpark estimate until an official number comes out. Venom cost between $100-116 million to make, which is actually fairly low for a comic book adaptation. It stands reason to believe Let There Be Carnage cost a similar amount. Considering the success of its predecessor, it wouldn't be surprising if Sony approved a bigger budget. It's possible Venom: Let There Be Carnage cost around $150 million to produce. We will update this post when more information becomes available.

UPDATE: Venom: Let There Be Carnage's production budget is reportedly $110 million, within the same range of the first movie. The rest of the original article follows.

How Much Venom 2 Needs To Make At The Box Office To Be A Hit

Carnage attacking Venom in Let There Be Carnage.

Going by the general rule of thumb, a movie's break even point is its production budget doubled. With this in mind, Venom: Let There Be Carnage would probably have to gross something in the $300 million range to recoup its costs. In pre-pandemic times, this wouldn't be an issue, as the first Venom was a massive hit that broke October box office records. Nowadays, it's a little trickier to accurately predict how things will turn out. Even for titles that are finding success commercially, the numbers are a fraction of what they would be in 2019, but there are encouraging signs. Shang-Chi is the benchmark for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, with a worldwide gross to date of $363.3 million. Free Guy also cleared the $300 million mark globally, as did Black Widow, so that figure is certainly attainable for Let There Be Carnage.

What helps Sony in this situation is Venom: Let There Be Carnage wasn't outrageously expensive to make, which makes it easier to turn a solid profit. At a time when box office grosses aren't necessarily a sure thing, cheaper budgets are the smart route to go. Obviously, nobody at Sony knew how drastically the world would change when Venom: Let There Be Carnage was initially greenlit, but even with Delta variant concerns, they should be in solid shape. It will be interesting to see how Venom: Let There Be Carnage fares longterm since it will face competition from No Time to Die early in its run, so hopefully it gets off to a strong start.

Next: What If Venom Had Been In the MCU: How He & Spider-Man Would Be Different

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